Death is Long Overdue (Phee Jefferson Book 1) (4 page)

CHAPTER NINE

“It is a pleasant world we live in, sir, a very pleasant world. There are bad people in it, Mr. Richard, but if there were no bad people, there would be no good lawyers.” - Charles Dickens, The Old Curiosity Shop

I awoke Saturday morning to two bright green eyes inches from my face.  Unfortunately, they were not the green eyes of Clint but of the twenty-five pound cat sitting on my chest waiting patiently for his breakfast.  Who needs an alarm clock when they have a cat with a bottomless stomach and no boundaries?

I stretched, patted Ferdie and gently pushed him to the floor.  I got up and walked to the kitchen to feed him and start my morning coffee.  It was my Saturday to work. I hurried to jump in the shower while my coffee perked merrily away on the counter.  My bathroom was a glorious flamingo pink with black accents.  Even the toilet was pink.  As I dried myself off, I inspected my face in the gilt mirror over the sink.  I had long, strawberry-blonde curls and unlike some redheads, only a light dusting of freckles across the bridge of my nose.  I had gray eyes that sometimes appeared blue depending on what I wore.  I had my dad's coloring and my mother's short, curvy build.  I wouldn't win a beauty contest, but I wouldn't kick myself out of the bed.

I dressed in a comfortable pair of jeans since Saturday was also the day when most of the weekly cleaning at the library took place.  I pulled a bright blue ribbed turtleneck over my head and added a long strand of freshwater pearls with matching earrings.  I slipped my feet into a pair of black clogs and clomped back to the kitchen.  Filling my to-go mug with hot coffee, I added cream, sugar and just a hint of cinnamon and nutmeg in honor of the brisk fall weather.  I smeared a bagel with some cream cheese and headed out the door.

When I pulled up to the library, I saw that Cincinnati was sitting outside waiting for me to open the doors.  On the Saturdays that I opened up, I let him come in early with me.  He kept me company, and he helped empty all the garbage cans.

"Morning, Charlie!"  I greeted him.  I unlocked the doors. Once we were in the building, I locked the doors behind us.  We still had about fifteen minutes until opening.

"Morning," Charlie responded grumpily.  He went over to the garbage can next to the door and pulled the bag out.  He was always cheerful when he came in, so his dour expression was unusual for him.

"What's the matter?"  I asked as I turned on all the lights and then began to switch on all of the computers.  "You aren't your usual cheerful self.  More importantly, you haven't given me one baseball fact this morning.  Are you sick?"

"Aw, it’s nothing," he replied.  He headed behind the circulation desk to grab the trash.  "I just ran into that Carla Karsen outside a little bit before you got here.  She was going on and on about how nice a fitness center would be and that some people could do with a little bit of exercise instead of sitting and reading a book all day.  It just made me angry."

"I wouldn't worry about it.  She might think that no one reads books anymore, but I think we can definitely prove her wrong.  We have at least a hundred people come here every day. The kids in this town all love our programs and our reading contests. The town council would be idiots to close the library to build a recreation center with just a reading room.  Besides, there are other locations in this town where Carla could build. She’s just jealous because I exercise my brain and she doesn’t."

"I know that and you know that, but she doesn't care.  If Carla has her way, she would get this building torn down and finagle a honey of a deal from the rest of the council.  Somebody needs to stop her." Charlie slammed down the empty can and headed out the back door to put the bag in the outside bin.  I knew he was right about Carla and her plans. I still thought I didn't have too much to worry about though.  Carla was like a mosquito that constantly buzzed around looking for blood.  It eventually went away or got squashed.

At ten o'clock sharp, I opened the doors.  Charlie left to attend the fire department’s benefit breakfast. I stayed busy throughout the morning doing some family tree research for Mrs. Young.  At noon, my other part-timer, Claire, came in.  She was a high school student who loved books.  She was quiet and did a great job. I occasionally would find her sitting on the floor somewhere immersed in a book when she was supposed to be shelving.  I always let Claire continue reading.  When I was a helper here as a teenager, the former librarian would shake her head at me and give me a knowing smile when she caught me hiding in a corner and reading a book.

I was busy cleaning up after one o'clock story time when I felt someone walk up behind me.  Standing up quickly, I turned to see Grant Davis.  Grant and I had been best friends throughout high school.  We had both been on the debate team and had similar taste in movies, music and books.  We lost touch when he left Miller's Cove to attend law school at the University of Iowa.  I had heard he had moved back to town two months ago and joined the law office of Biddle, Smith and Talty.

"Phee Jefferson!  It is good to see you," Grant said.  He had filled out since his high school years. The extra weight looked good on him.  His curly blonde hair that had given him a cherubic appearance in his youth was brushed back and he sported a mustache.  It was a good look for him.  I gave him a warm hug.

"Gosh!  You look great.  I heard you were back in town, but I didn't have a chance to hunt you down." I smiled at him.

"I got tired of waiting for you to call me, so I decided to come down here and see for myself that you actually became our town librarian last year."

"I sure did.  I heard you became some big shot defense attorney at the local law firm. I guess you aren't doing too badly.  I saw your mom just the other day at the market.  She raved about how proud she was of you.  She said that she missed us hanging out in the house driving her crazy.  I know she's had a hard time since your dad passed away.  I bet she's happy to have you home.  My mom’s been checking on her and tries to take her out to lunch, but she seems to prefer to stay at home most of the time.  Mom was finally able to get her to come here last week for a nature program.  I think she enjoyed herself. She actually stayed afterwards to chat with folks," I said. My mom and Shari Davis became friends ten years ago when they both spent hours driving around town looking for Grant and me when we decided to skip school one day and go to an all-day marathon of classic movies at the local theater.  He and I were grounded for a month, but our moms had been friends ever since.

"That's part of the reason why I came home.  I called her every week, but I could tell she was depressed.  I'm all she has left. I called Mr. Biddle Senior, he interviewed me, and well, here I am.  Mom and I just got back from the fire department benefit breakfast. She asked me to swing by here so she could turn in her library books.  If Mohammed won't come to the mountain, the mountain must come to Mohammed!" I spotted Shari browsing the paperbacks on the other side of the library.  I lifted a hand in greeting to her, and she waved back.

"Well, I, for one, am glad you are back.  I need my best movie buddy.  Juliet only likes horror movies and action films. She refuses to go with me when they do the classics marathon.  Speaking of which, they are playing
Gone with the Wind
tonight.  We should go!"  I said excitedly.  When we were kids, Grant was always willing to hit the theater with me regardless of what was playing.               

"Well, that's another reason I wanted to come by and see you. Great minds must think alike. I saw that it was playing and immediately thought of you.  I've been busy moving and getting settled, and I haven't had a chance to come see you yet. So you don't have a hot date already lined up?" Grant asked. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and gave me a hopeful look.

"Nope.  It was just going to be me and my cat curled up with a mystery tonight.  How about I meet you at the theater about fifteen minutes before the show starts?  That will give us time to get our Jujubes and slushies and try to snag our usual seats."  It would be nice to get out of the house tonight and not dwell on the past few days.

"I have an even better idea.  Why don't I pick you up at seven o'clock and we can have dinner at Mimi's then head over to the theater?"  Grant suggested.

"That'll work.  My house is the dark green bungalow at 566 Willow Street.  You can't miss it.  I have a bright orange '68 VW van parked in the driveway.  Listen, it's been good to see you, but I should get back to work.  These books are like gremlins and multiply when you aren't looking. I'll see you at seven."  I reached over and gave him another quick hug.

"It's a date." Grant smiled at me, turned and walked away. I paused for a moment at the word "date."  I shook my head.  I was reading too much into it.  Grant and I had been best friends growing up.  While the other girls in school were busy chasing boys, polishing their nails and gossiping about the latest boy band, I was watching classic movies and reading Jane Austen.  Grant's parents were a little older when they adopted him. He seemed to have grown up in a different era than the other kids.  We gravitated towards each other and our friendship was sealed when Carla and her pack of hyenas had "accidentally" dumped a carton of milk on my shirt in the school cafeteria. They had all screeched that I was lactating. I had been mortified.  Grant had come to my rescue when he yanked off his pullover and offered it to me. We'd been thick as thieves ever since.  It was a shame we had lost touch during college.

The rest of the afternoon flew by.  I closed up the library at five o'clock and hurried home to change.  I chose a midnight blue silk blouse and paired it with my favorite faded jeans and brown riding boots.  I spritzed my favorite 1920's perfume, My Sin, behind my ears. I flicked some mascara on my eyelashes and added a hint of peach lipstick.  The addition of my favorite silver hoop earrings completed the look. I hoped my look said “casual night out with a friend.”

A few minutes before seven, I heard Grant pull up to the house.  I grabbed my jacket and headed out to meet him.

"I was going to be a gentleman and come to the door," Grant said.  He stepped out of his black Porsche 918 Spyder and walked around to open my car door for me.  He had changed into a dark blue polo shirt with a black leather jacket.

I gave a low whistle. "Holy cow!  You must be doing great to drive a car like that." I settled into the soft leather seats and gave a sigh of pleasure.  Grant climbed into the driver's seat, pushed a button and the engine purred like a well-fed cat.

"I do alright.  No wife or kids yet, so I decided to buy myself a toy with the money from the new job.  I want to play a little before I grow up and settle down."  Grant turned down Main Street towards Mimi's.  The parking lot next to Mimi's was full since it was a Saturday night.

"I'll drop you off at the front door, drive down and park at the pharmacy. I’ll meet you inside," Grant suggested.

"I'll put our name on the list if there's a wait.” I climbed out when he pulled up to the curb.  I walked inside and gave the hostess my name.  She advised that a table should be ready in about ten minutes and suggested I order a drink.  I sat at the bar and ordered a Cosmopolitan while I waited for Grant.  As I turned to face the door to look for him, I was surprised to see Clint heading towards the exit.  Walking next to him was an attractive brunette.  Turning away quickly so he wouldn't spot me, I attempted to track his movements in the mirror behind the bartender.  A moment later, Clint appeared behind me with the woman. She must be the new love interest my mom had mentioned.

"Hi, Phee," Clint greeted me. I turned my stool towards him. Trying to appear calm, cool and collected, I took a sip of my drink.  I swallowed wrong and ended up coughing and gagging.  Clint patted me on the back. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine.  Just went down the wrong pipe," I gasped when I finally caught my breath.  I could feel the blush of embarrassment from the roots of my hair all the way to my toes.

"This is Grace Winchester." Clint turned to the brunette.  "Grace, this is my friend, Phee Jefferson."

"Nice to meet you, Phee.  Is that short for something?"  Grace had a low, sultry voice.  I instantly hated her a little more for it.  The fact that she was gorgeous didn’t help.

"It's short for Ophelia.  Nice to meet you, too." I gave her a tight smile as I fingered the stem of my glass.

"Grace is here for a few days.  I figured she couldn't leave Miller's Cove without trying Mimi's famous coconut cake.  Grace is..."

"Were you able to get us a table, Phee?" Grant walked up and interrupted Clint before he could finish. "Clint Mason.  Long time, man.  How's it going?"  Grant shook hands with Clint and then placed an arm around my shoulders.

"I’m doing alright.  I heard you were back in town.  What are you two up to this evening?"  Clint glanced at Grant's arm around my shoulder.  Did I imagine a slight tightening of his expression?

"We were just going to grab a bite to eat before catching the nine o'clock show at the theater.  They’re playing
Gone with the Wind
, and it’s one of Phee’s favorite movies," Grant replied.  I felt his hand tighten possessively around my shoulder. He leaned a little closer to me. Grant knew all about my teenage crush on Clint.

"Good to see you, Grant.  Grace and I should get going and let you enjoy your date. Phee, I'll see you later."  Clint turned and taking Grace's elbow, the two of them headed towards the door.